Investigators: Maldonado was yelling outside first

Neighbors reported the bail bondsman also yelled at someone inside minutes before his death.

July 27, 2010|By Joseph Serna, joseph.serna@latimes.com

Whether a 51-year-old man will be charged for shooting and killing a Newport Beach businessman inside a woman's home two weeks ago will come down to if the shooting was in self-defense, homicide investigators said Tuesday.

Dean Patrick Maldonado, 49, who lived in Newport Beach and owned Dean Maldonado Bail Bonds, died of gunshot wounds just before midnight July 17 in Rancho Santa Margarita. He was killed inside Linda Shaw's home, where he had lived in the past, according to police and confirmed by property records.

"The only reason he went there was because of her," said Dan Salcedo, an Orange County Sheriff's Department homicide investigator. "The neighbors reported hearing someone outside (the house) yelling."

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Salcedo would not clarify if Shaw called Maldonado to the house or if Maldonado went on his own accord.

The two had had an on-again, off-again relationship for years. There were conflicting reports about whether they were back together on the day of the shooting, Salcedo said.

Minutes before Maldonado was killed, two neighbors called 911 to report he was outside the house yelling at someone inside, Salcedo said.

Maldonado then entered the house through an unlocked sliding glass door, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Inside, Maldonado argued with a 51-year-old man who was inside with Shaw. The man, whom authorities have declined to identify, was carrying a gun but does not work in law enforcement.

The argument got more intense and someone inside the house called 911, Salcedo said. Soon after, the man shot Maldonado several times. Maldonado died before paramedics arrived.

Salcedo said Maldonado was the only one who was shot, but declined to specify whether the shooter or Shaw were injured in some other fashion.

An autopsy has been completed and police are waiting for a toxicology report, which would show if Maldonado was drunk or on drugs when he was killed.

The report should be completed in four to six weeks, authorities said. Police are still investigating and have not turned over their report to the district attorney's office.